Green Snail Valley lay deep among the mountains of the Western Sichuan Great Snow Mountain. Unless you knew the area well, it was nearly impossible to find.
Thanks to Old Ancestor Green Robe's memories, Hao Shuai managed not to lose his way. The vast Great Snow Mountain stretched before him, its peaks buried beneath snow piled a thousand fathoms deep. It never melted, even in summer, and not a blade of grass grew there. The terrain was remote and desolate, with no sign of human habitation.
Hao Shuai looked at the snow that had remained unmelted for a thousand years. There wasn't a trace of people—or even a bird or beast.
Green Snail was the main name of one of the Great Snow Mountain's peaks, and the Green Snail Demon Palace sat inside a deep valley on the mountain. The Great Snow Mountain stretched for over a thousand li, and nearly all of it was frozen and snowbound. Only the area around the palace was a warm valley, sheltered from the wind and rich in natural energy. Not only was the scenery beautiful and the vegetation lush, but the terrain was the finest in the entire mountain range.
Hao Shuai flew on his sword at an unhurried pace, as if he were out sightseeing. In truth, he had only just learned the basics of sword flight and couldn't fly very fast.
He landed in front of Green Snail Valley and put away his sword. The valley was shaped like a snail, its entrance marking the tip of the tail. The path wound back and forth for more than twenty li before the valley opened up.
To ordinary people, this place would have been a natural fortress, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was the sort of terrain where